An Early Epipalaeolithic sitting burial from the Azraq Oasis, Jordan

Abstract

Detailed analysis of the anatomy and taphonomic process of a burial in Jordan shows that the body was originally bound in a sitting position and placed in marshland, where it collapsed into the splayed tableau eventually recovered by excavation. The authors succeed in reconstructing a burial rite from one of the most elusive of mortuary phases: the Early Epipalaeolithic in south-west Asia.

The Geometric Kebaran occupation and lithic assemblage of Wadi Mataha, Southern Jordan

“…Burials from the Early and the Middle Epipalaeolithic are rare in the southern Levant, and to-date Early Epipalaeolithic burials are known from the sites of Ohalo II (Nadel, 1994), 'Ain Qasiyya (Richter et al, 2010b), Ein Gev I (Arensberg and Bar Yosef, 1973), and Kharaneh IV (Rolston, 1982). Middle Epipalaeolithic burials are found at the sites 'Uyun al-Hammam (Maher, 2007;Maher et al, 2011), Neve David (Kaufman and Ronen, 1987), and Wadi Mataha.…”

“…Corpse binding is documented at 'Ain Qasiyya, an Early Epipalaeolithic site in the Azraq wetland (Richter et al, 2010a(Richter et al, , 2010b, and now at Wadi Mataha. At 'Ain Qasiyya the burial was found on its back, with the legs flexed but splayed outwards, and the skull situated above the left ribs (Richter et al, 2010b).…”

Settled? Recent debates in the archaeology of the Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Southwest Asia

“…In particular, the proliferation of pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic and early Natufian sites excavated in Jordan and Syria during the first two decades of the twenty-first century clearly demonstrates that the core-periphery model has effectively collapsed. The increase in archaeological research east and north of the Bcore area^has revealed the density and complexity of pre-and early Natufian inhabitation of a variety of ecological zones from southern Jordan to Lebanon and northern Syria (Garrard and Yazbeck 2003;2013;Maher et al 2011Maher et al , 2012Richter et al 2010Richter et al , 2014. Looking further afield in the region, recent research at the site of Jeftelik in the Homs Gap, Syria, demonstrates early Natufian occupation far north of the Bcore area^ (Rodriguez et al 2013), and Pinarbaşi, the earliest known prehistoric settlement sequence in central Anatolia, is broadly contemporary with the Levantine Early Natufian (and later PPNA and early PPNB, (Baird et al 2013).…”

The Đa Bút Period in Northern Vietnam: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

“…Numerous prehistoric and historic cultures throughout the world have buried their dead in sitting postures (e.g. Guerrero et al 2009;Richter et al 2010;Vickers 1947). In Vietnam, this custom first appeared during the Hòa Bình Period (evident at the sites of Đắng Cave, Thẩm Hoi Cave and Chùa Cave) and continued during the Quỳnh Văn Period, but increased in frequency during the Đa Bút Period.…”